Ryan Jamison - Men's Golf Coach - Florida Atlantic University Athletics

Ryan Jamison

Title:
Head Men's Golf Coach
Email:
rjamison2013@fau.edu

Ryan Jamison joined Florida Atlantic University in July 2018, bringing more than a decade of experience to a program sitting nearby many of the world’s best golf courses.

FAU golf made huge strides over Jamison’s first three seasons.

In 2021, Jamison led FAU to its best-ever Par 3 (3.1680) scoring average, Par 4 (4.1666) scoring average and national ranking (85). The team’s six par-or-better rounds and Par 5 scoring average (4.8154) each rank second in program history. Jamison helped Enrique Dimayuga and Max Sturdza earn first- and third-team All-Conference USA honors, respectively, making it the first time FAU had two all-conference selections in the same year. Under Jamison’s direction, Dimayuga earned a spot in the NCAA Regionals, making him the first FAU golfer to play an NCAA postseason event since 2009.

The Owls broke into Golfweek’s top-100 for the first time in FAU history in 2019-20, also moving from No. 168 to a program-best No. 104 in Golfstat’s national rankings. Jamison’s 57.4 percent career coaching record is already No. 1 in FAU golf history.

Jamison’s Owls hit six par-or-better rounds as a team in 2019-20 to rank second in FAU history, behind only his 2018-19 squad. The team also recorded the second-best finish percentage (65.4 percent) in program history. On Par 3 and Par 5 scoring FAU shot then-program bests with 3.1702 and 4.8154, respectively, ranking second in Par 4 scoring with 4.1869. The team’s Round 3 272 at the Golfweek Program Championship ranks second all-time.

The 2019-20 season saw Jamison develop youth standouts into college stars. FAU’s freshmen relative strength of 420.582 ranked behind only TCU nationally, per Golfstat, as Sturdza, Alex Maguire and Dimayuga enjoyed breakout seasons under Jamison. The freshmen all ranked among the top-11 in FAU history for stroke percentage, with senior Sully Zagerman sitting right behind at No. 12.

In his first season with the Owls, Jamison's veteran coaching showed. Under Jamison, the team enjoyed a then-third best scoring average in program history, averaging 293.04 for the year. That average is over seven strokes better than the 2017-18 season, helping the Owls boost their Golfstat.com ranking up 20 spots over the course of the season. The Owls also had their best score in the Conference USA Championship since joining the league in 2013 with an 899 score for the three rounds.

Sully Zagerman enjoyed his best career season in Jamison's first year. The senior was the top finisher for the Owls most of the season. He took a full two strokes off his average score for an average of 72.50 for the season. That score is the third best in FAU history, behind teammate Enrique Dimayuga and Steve LeBrun, who is playing professionally on the Web.com Tour. Zagerman amassed a long list of accolades in 2018-10, including winning C-USA Golfer of the Week twice and being named to the C-USA All-Academic Team. He shot two of the program's top-10 54-hole scores in 2018-19 with a 205 (tied for third) at the FAU Spring Championship and 207 (tied for eighth) at the Hummingbird Intercollegiate.

Others improved their game as well under Jamison. Karan Nalam was one of the most improved players on the squad in 2018-19, taking his average score from 78.42 that season to 74.54 the year prior. He led the team at the Patriot Intercollegiate with a 1-over score. Patrick Poate improved his average score to 73.77 for the 2018-19 season. Dekarski made the biggest improvement on the 2018-19 team. In 2016-17, Dekarski had an average score of 85.75. The following season, the redshirt averaged 76.43 marking nearly a 10-stroke improvement to his game.

In the classroom, Jamison put an emphasis on academics. The Owls were named GCAA All-Academic Team for the 2018-19 season and Zagerman was named a GCAA All-American Scholar.

Jamison joined FAU’s staff after a two-year stint at Stanford, 2016-18, which featured a pair of team victories -- The Goodwin and NCAA Regional Championship -- and a top-20 finish at the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal ranked ninth in the final 2016-17 Golfweek poll after posting a 71.09 stroke average through 11 events. In 2017-18 Stanford returned to the NCAA Regionals, finishing second of 13 teams, led by team MVP Brandon Wu. Wu averaged a team best 70.61 through 12 events and shared the squad lead with four top 10’s and led the Cardinal with seven top 25’s, while earning All-Region honors. Isaiah Salinda earned a 15th place showing at the NCCA Championships in 2017-18 and was selected PING All-American honorable mention. As a team, Stanford finished No. 16 at the 2017-18 NCAA Championship.

During his time at Stanford, Jamison coached the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world in Maverick McNealy. McNealy won the McCormack Medal and played in the US and British Opens as a result. He coached six All-America Scholar Athletes. While with the Card, Jamison was mentored by GCAA Hall of Famer and 2007 Dave Williams/Eaton Golfpride National Coach of the Year.

Prior to Stanford, Jamison's served four seasons as head coach at Nova Southeastern, which included the 2015 NCAA Division II national title. That season saw his squad capture seven tournament wins and seven individual crowns. The Sharks finished first or second in all but one of their tournaments. The team had four All-Americans and one Academic All-American, while Jamison received the Dave Williams National Coach of the Year Award. Nova Southeastern's Santiago Gomez earned the DII Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year award following the program's landmark run. Jamison left Nova with the highest winning percentage of any coach in the program's history.

In 2013, Jamison's first year with the Sharks, the program tallied a third-place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships. Jamison improved upon that successful 2013 season with a second-place finish in the 2014 NCAA Division II Championships.

Jamison led the Sharks to a South/Southeast Regional Championship during the 2014-15 and 2012-13 seasons. He also collected South/Southeast Regional Coach of the Year in 2014-15, Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year in the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons and Captain U Spring National Coach of the Year in 2013-14.

In addition to coaching, Jamison also served as the GCAA South Region Chair, GCAA Assistant Coach of the Year Committee and GCAA Hall of Fame Committee.

Before taking over the Sharks' program, Jamison served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, DePaul, for two seasons. He helped lead the team to its highest Big East finish in 2010 while coaching two golfers to the All-Conference team. The Blue Demons were Academic National Champions during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons under Jamison. Ben Westley and Charles Boucher earned All-America Scholar Awards those two seasons.

Jamison’s first collegiate coaching gig was as an assistant at Nova Southeastern from 2006-10. During that time, Jamison helped lead the program to its highest national ranking, climbing to No. 1 in the nation. The Sharks qualified for the NCAA postseason every year with two appearances at the NCAA National Tournament. Combined, Nova won eight college events with Jamison as an assistant. He was mentored by two-time Division II National Coach of the Year, Kevin Marsh.

Prior to his coaching career, Jamison executed various golf operations for the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational and Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge.

Jamison graduated from DePaul in 2005 and returned to his alma mater in 2010 to earn an MBA. As a student-athlete at DePaul, Jamison won the Midwest Amateur Tournament by five shots and served as the team captain for his final two seasons with the Blue Demons.